THE BUILDER AUGUST 1926

The Form of the Lodge

By BROS. A. L. KRESS AND R. J. MEEKREN

BEFORE completing our survey of the evidence something must be said
about a theory, which has apparently been quite widely accepted
since the publication of the curious diagram in the Carmick MS., of
which the designer expressly says, "This figure represents the
lodge." It will be seen from the illustration that we have here an
isosceles triangle, the apex towards the east as shown by the
compass. At the base is a crude attempt to depict a mosaic
pavement. The numerals on each side possibly refer to those
present, fifteen in all apparently, a number undoubtedly
traditional. The Warden, as was not unusual in early Scots Masonry,
was apparently the presiding officer, the Craftsmen to the north,
the Masters (employers one would suppose) to the south, and the
apprentices to the west. Two lights only are represented, while
plumb, gavel, trowel, square and compass are the working tools. The
omission of the level may be significant in estimating the real
meaning of the figure as it has occurred to a number of students
quite independently that the whole design itself represents the
form of an old type of this instrument that is frequently to be
found among old Masonic emblems, especially those originating in
Europe.

The other evidence that can be adduced for this theory is very
scanty. There are some peculiar records of lodges in Germany and
Austria, and a few stray indications in the old catechisms.
Curiously, and it may of course be significantly, they none of them
say anything at all about the form of the lodge. The question that
comes nearest to dealing with it is found only in the three closely
related documents which may be conveniently classed as the "Grand
Mystery Group." In all of these appears the following query and
response:

Q. How many angles in st. John's Lodge?
R. Four, bordering on squares.

Following the reply is a small diagram, but different in each case.
In the Grand Mystery, the printed version, appears a small maltese
cross and over it a smaller equilateral triangle. In the Essex MS.
appears an inverted T, a horizontal line or dash with an upright
one standing in the middle of it, surmounted by a relatively small
triangle as in the previous case. In the Institution of Free Masons
there is first a dash terminated at each end by seraphs, then a
plain upright line and above it, but in this case separate, a
triangle as before.

In each of these catechisms there is an earlier question and answer
which runs:

Q. What Lodge are you of ?
R. The Lodge of St. John.

and this answer is followed in the first two documents by the same
diagram as appears respectively in each one later, but in the third
it is not the same, but looks very much like a figure 5, though it
is hard to be certain that this was what the scribe intended, but
if so it might of course be a reference to the "odd numbers" that
"make a lodge."

There is one more reference that might be supposed to have a
bearing on the subject, and that is the following from the Sloane
MS. 3329:

Q. Where lyes the keys of the lodge-door?
A. They ley in a bound case or under a three-cornered pavem't
aboute a foote and a halfe from the lodge door.

In addition to this are some very definite statements by various
Masonic students to the effect that it was "the rule among
Operative Masons to set up their lodge in form of a triangle" and
that this usage continued in Europe all through the eighteenth
century. Indeed some go further than this, and definitely tell us
that in Scandinavia and Denmark the lodges are still triangular in
form. Upon investigation these statements, especially those of the
continuance of the usage till the present seem to be based on
confusion between the form of the lodge and position of the three
principle officers. As has been remarked [e. g. Bro. Songhurst,
A.Q.C., 23 - 140] the stations  of these officers must necessarily
form a triangle in whatever position they may be placed, excepting
only on the supposition that they were in a straight line. However
there is an account of an old German lodge, the "Lodge of the Three
Golden Swords," at Dresden, about the year 1744, which runs as
follows:

The places of the brethren formed an isosceles triangle. At the
upper point was placed the Master's table covered with a sky blue
damask cloth embroidered in gold and with a golden fringe. At the
other two corners were placed the Wardens and between these three
points the chairs of the brethren, thus forming the sides of a
triangle within which was the tapis.

It must certainly be admitted that such an arrangement as this
might be indicated by the Carmick diagram. In fact this
presentation of evidence as a whole sounds rather formidable;
nevertheless examination of the facts alleged may show that it
points in a different direction from what seems apparent at first
sight. Dealing with the old Catechisms first. The "three cornered
pavement" of the Sloane MS. is not concerned with the lodge at all,
but the whereabouts of its key. The questions and answers anent
this last are all very cryptic and enigmatic, indeed they partake
more of the nature of riddles than anything else, so that however
it should actually be interpreted it is probable that no real
pavement, nor even a representation of one is intended. Then we
find that in a particular group of these documents, one rather rich
in hieroglyphics, a certain diagram or character is noted as,
apparently, equivalent to the word "lodge," in the same way that a
square or oblong figure is used even today. Each one of these
consists of a horizontal and a vertical line and a triangle, in
different combinations. Whatever may have been intended by the
triangle, it must be remembered that the question and answer
unequivocally inform us that "St. John's Lodge" had four angles
"bordering on squares." If it had four angles it could not have
been three-cornered. And whatever "bordering on squares" may have
originally meant, it certainly suggests that the four angles were
right angles. Further, all the Catechisms agree in referring or
comparing the lodge in some way either to the Temple or to
"Churches and Chapels," or to both. The first was a rectangular
building, and the latter were almost universally such, and the
general statement could hardly have had the rare exceptions to the
normal plan in mind. The point is made more definite by the fact
that this reference is usually made in reply to a question as to
the situation, that is the orientation, of the lodge. The natural
interpretation of the language used is that the plan of the lodge
was similar to that of "Churches and Chapels," which is as much as
to say that it was rectangular. Coming to the old German minutes,
it is hard to see any definite bearing on our problem. True this
quaint method of recording attendance might have been suggested by
such a usage as we are considering; but on the other hand it might
have been suggested by the fact that the triangle does, in many
ways, bear an important part in Masonic symbolism. The actual
arrangement of these triangles, as may be seen from the typical
specimen illustrated, cannot possibly be a diagram of the relative
positions of those present, for that would imply an unheard of
arrangement of the officers and members and visitors. This being
inconclusive we have left only the Carmick diagram and the Lodge of
the Three Golden Swords.

We have already noted the fact that the Carmick diagram suggests a
composite design representing the old triangular type of mason's
level, and the absence of this implement from the group of working
tools depicted has already been noted. The superscription says that
the design "represents" the lodge. This has been taken to mean that
it is a plan or chart of the lodge, but it does not necessarily
follow. In other Masonic designs of the same and earlier date (not
that any argument can be built on the date as the diagram may have
been copied with the rest of the document from a much older
original) we find them described as the "plan" of the lodge. To
"represent" may quite well mean emblematic or mnemonic
representation and not plan or accurate picture. However there is
no necessity to press this as an argument but it is a possibility
to be kept in mind. If then we suppose this diagram to actually
depict the arrangement of those present at the lodges with which
Persifor Frazer, or whoever drew the design, was familiar it must
certainly be taken in conjunction with the exceptional German
instance we have quoted. Exceptional it is even though it is very
possible that it was not unique, in view of the fact that such
records have only here and there been preserved by lucky chance.
But a very important point in the description, the significance of
which seems to have been missed by those who accept the triangular
as the primitive form of the lodge, is the definite statement that
within the triangle formed by the officers and the brethren was
first a table covered With an embroidered cloth and to the west of
that the tapis or floor carpet. The general arrangement in
essentials appears to be precisely that described by Simonnet. It
would seem, then, that the triangular form was an exceptional
variant, and it would be quite in accord with the facts before us
to suppose it merely a special development, the use of this
geometric figure, which as was remarked above, was undoubtedly
always an important Masonic symbol.

Before returning from this digression we may note another apparent
variation, and one much closer to the general line of evolution,
and that is the circle. In modern English Masonry the symbolism of
the circle is developed especially in the Third Degree, but even
here it is not exclusive of the quadrangular form, for the "Square
pavement for the high priest to walk on" is still at least an
"ornament of the Master's lodge." More stress is however laid on
the center than on the circumference, and in its present form we
cannot easily be certain how much of it is primitive. We would
hazard the conjecture, though, that it is very little. From such
information as we have at hand it would seem that it was an
expansion of an originally minor motif. In connection with this may
be recalled the fact that Dr. Oliver mentions certain "tracing
boards" of the 18th century of circular form, and Bro. Dring has
published [A.Q.C., 29-284] a set from the north of England in which
the emblems are arranged in a circle, enclosed in a square. The
fact that these aberran forms are in every case conjoined with the
norma square or oblong form (even the anomolous Carmick diagram
shows a square mosaic pavement) will justify us in regarding them
as variant offshoots from the main tradition.

Although we have hardly exhausted the evidence that might be
relevant to the subject it would seem a if we were now in a
position to draw some tentative conclusions from the discussion of
what is before us. The idea of a certain place being sacred or holy
is universal, and with it goes the concurrent idea that important
actions, especially those ritually expressed, should only be
carried on "holy ground," to use the phrase of our old lectures.
Then we have seen that part of the process or preparation for the
sanctifying of a particular and restricted locality is the marking
it out, delimiting it or enclosing it in some way. All this is
apparently the common property of all races and tribes in all ages
so far as our knowledge goes, and if it be supposed to have a
common origin then it must be looked for in the dim vistas of the
pre-historic past. The Operative Masons were not singular,
therefore, in making a sacred enclosure in which to enter their
apprentices, but simply adopted, or rather inherited, a conception
as old as human culture. It is admitted generally that the
voluntary society or fraternity, when it appears at a higher level
of civilization, takes over the characteristics of the clan or
gens, which may be regarded as an extended family. The initiation
into a savage secret society is exactly the same kind of ceremony
as that of the Boys into the tribe. Looking at it from the other
end, if we find a belief in witchcraft and the evil eye surviving,
Midsummer and Hallowe'en observances lasted down till at least the
middle of the last century, with harvest observances, mummers'
dances and the ritual game referred to above of "building the
ship"--if such things have survived to our day which can only have
arisen spontaneously in a naive and primitive community, they must
a fortiori also have existed in the Middle Ages; and if then, it
follows that they were known and practiced in the ages before that
until we get back far enough to reach the level whence they
originally sprang. Let us as an illustration consider a modern
trades union; say that of radio electricians. It is a thing of
today, yesterday there was no such occupation. But its
constitution, its rules and by-laws are inherited and adapted from
those of other unions, and they again from other societies, and
they again from parliamentary and municipal codes and rules of
order, and these can be traced back step by step to a time and
stage when discussion and argument were regarded as a rather poor
substitute for settling questions and disputes in the good old way,
with spear and battle axe, a substitute that at first was
frequently rejected in a return to the genuine article.

But if this process, this law it might be called, is operative at
the present time it must have been equally so in the past. No man
can escape the influence of his age, no age can avoid the influence
of the one that preceded it. If the various crafts were newly
organized in the Middle Ages, those who formed those new societies
did so on lines with which they were already familiar. The Teutonic
Gild is supposed by some to have been modeled on a clan
organization. The gilds that sprang up within the limits of what
had been the Roman Empire more probably followed that of the
municipalities or possibly of the collegia. The actual origin is
not of importance here, the point is that some preceding form was
copied, instinctively and inevitably. Now if any craft be found to
have a rite of initiation, as the masons and carpenters did almost
certainly, and blacksmiths very possibly (if not probably), then
unless we suppose the organization to be of immemorial antiquity,
those forming them de novo must have been familiar with the idea of
initiation. In some way, directly or indirectly, the tradition of
such ritual and its necessity must have come down from the
primitive stage of culture in which it naturally originates. What
we are particularly concerned with now is the fact that initiations
have to be carried out in a specially prepared place--as we might
put it today, a consecrated or dedicated place. As we have seen, in
primitive thought the enclosing or marking out of an area is the
same thing as consecration, or at least includes its essentials.

Thus we may legitimately conjecture that the Operative Masons
prepared a special place where their apprentices were to be
entered. In later times at least they seem to have called it a
lodge, a temporary place of sojourn. The novices also had to be
prepared before it was proper for them to approach it; we may guess
that otherwise it would have been "unlucky." This vague term
probably best describes the attitude of mind of comparatively
civilized men to such primitive requirements. And considering that
these men were builders, and that part of the technique of their
craft was the laying out and marking the site of a new structure,
it would be almost inevitable that the lodge enclosure would be
regarded as a site, and marked out by the same methods and with the
same traditional rites. What these may have been in the Middle Ages
is very much a matter of guess work, though further research might
give us some light on the subject. It may he suggested here that
this consideration is an additional argument against the primitive
character of the triangular form. We have noted already that the
circular plan is the one naturally adopted by the earliest
builders, and that with a change in materials and methods of
construction the square plan follows it. The symbolism of these
forms follows them, is invented for them. But the triangular plan
is impractical, it is the converse of the circular, for it gives
the minimum area for the length of the walls built. A deliberate
and conscious symbolism is obviously later and more sophisticated
than natural and traditional forms.

With changed conditions the Masonic lodge became a diagram drawn on
the floor of a closed chamber. Then convenience led to its being
permanently represented on some textile material, following a
tendency which, as we have seen, has been operative elsewhere. Thus
divorced from its original status, the chamber tends to be regarded
as the "lodge" and the diagram on the carpet, or on a board,
becomes but part of the furniture. Its size becomes a matter of
convenience, instead of being large enough to accommodate all
present, it had merely to be of such a size as to be clearly
visible. From that it has suffered various further degradation till
now in this country it has become a subject for magic lantern
slides, and from being a thing so sacred none but the initiated
might see it, it is published to the world at large. Yet as our
lodge rooms are oblong or square, perhaps the older form might be
more justly considered a cast-off husk, preserved in some sort by
conservatism and a new use found for it. We no longer destroy or
obliterate the lodge when it is closed, yet in several ways its
form is still concealed from the profane. According to the usage of
old French Masonry, when it was necessary to expel a member, after
the sentence had been pronounced by the Master he proceeded to
close the lodge. By this proceeding the symbolical building
disappeared from around the delinquent, like the fabric of a fairy
palace, to which he could never again find the entrance.


AN ANCIENT CUSTOM

A curious ceremony takes place every year on St. Martin's Day, Nov.
11, at Knightlow in Warwickshire in England; it is evidently a
survival of a very old custom. An account of it was published in a
daily paper [The Daily News, Nov. 12, 1881], in which the writer
describes having been present at the performance as late as the
year 1881. The Duke of Buccleuch is lord of the manor of Knightlow,
and according to an old charter forty towns, or parishes, have to
pay a sum called "wrath money," or incur certain penalties. The
place where the money has to be paid is an old tumulus, on the top
of which there is an ancient stone with a hole in it, supposed to
be the socket of a cross. Into this hole the coins have to be
deposited before witnesses, and before the sun rises on St.
Martin's Day. The person paying the money must also "go thrice
about the cross" and say "the wrath money." The four words in
italics are here given to mark the point in the ceremony which is
important in relation to the subject [of circumambulation]. The
money paid varies from a penny to 2s. 3 1/2; and the whole sum paid
on that particular morning only amounted to 9s. 3 1/2, which did
not pay for a substantial breakfast provided by the steward at the
duke's expense, at the Oak Inn, stretton, where the whole party
went. It was explained that the Buccleuch family preserve the
curious tradition on account of its great antiquity, that antiquity
making the ceremony interesting, as showing that the existence of
circumambulatory rites were common in England as well as in Ireland
and Scotland. A writer in the Glasgow Herald fourteen years later
describes the ceremony of that year, and adds that it has survived
without a break. His account differs in a few particulars from that
given above. The proceedings took place before sun rising, round
the base of an old cross (called the Fee stone) of the time of
Edward III, and were opened by reading the charter of assembly. The
representatives of the parishes then dropped their tribute called
Wroth Silver or Swarff Penny, into a hollow in the stone. Formerly
before doing so they had to walk three times round the cross; but
this part of the formality is now omitted. The penalty for
non-payment of these fees is 20s. for every penny due, or a white
bull with a red nose and ears of the same color. Wroth silver was
formerly collected in various parts of the country, but in
Warwickshire alone does the custom now prevail.
[W. Simpson, The Buddhist Praying Wheel]
